Yep, I have big news about U.S. State Department Travel Warnings.
The State Department’s ‘Travel Warnings’ and ‘Travel Alerts’ have been replaced by a new system that includes security information for every country in the world.
Instead of the old system, which issued “travel alerts” for short-term risks caused by events like nationwide protests or epidemic outbreaks, and “travel warnings” for long-term concerns stemming from conflict or political instability, the State Department has implemented a four tiered system that identifies the risk for every country in the world.
“In the new Travel Advisories, we’ve done away with Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts,” announced Bureau of Consular Affairs Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Overseas Citizen Services Michelle Bernier-Toth. “We’ve done away with emergency and security messages—that was something that people didn’t always understand the difference—and we have gone to a Travel Advisory for every country, including Antarctica. And within that Travel Advisory, we have gone to a four-level ranking system.”
Thank goodness! The old system was so confusing, but I love this new plan. Here’s what that looks like:
Level 1=Exercise “Normal Precautions.” This is the lowest level advisory.
Level 2=Exercise “Increased Precaution.” This is the second lowest level advisory.
Level 3=”Reconsider Travel.” You should seriously reconsider any travel plans to this destination at this time.
Level 4=”Do NOT Travel.” This is the highest level advisory and the U.S government is telling you that it is extremely dangerous (life-threatening) to travel to this destination at this time.
To give you an idea about these new advisories, here are some that I looked up:
Level 1=Canada, Greece, Peru, and Morocco
Level 2= The Bahamas, Belize, United Kingdom, Israel, and Egypt
Level 3=Cuba, Turkey, and Venezuela
Level 4=North Korea, Iran, South Sudan, and Syria
In addition to telling you what level of threat, the U.S. State Department will also share why they have assigned this advisory level:
(C)=Crime
(T)=Terrorism
(U)=Civil Unrest
(H)=Health
(N)=Natural Disaster
(E)=Time-limited Event (short-term threat, such as a political election or international incident)
(O)=Other. There may be other threats that are not covered above.
To learn the latest travel advisories, visit www.travel.state.gov.
I always check for travel advisories before I book any trip and again before departure. With the world the way it is these days, I highly recommend you do the same. I also want to take this opportunity to mention travel insurance. These days it is prudent to invest in a policy. Click here to read my free report, TEN REASONS YOU’RE STUPID IF YOU DON’T BUY TRAVEL INSURANCE! At the very least, you need to be aware of the trip cancellation policy of your tour or cruise company. You may discover that you cannot cancel without penalty even if a travel advisory has been issued since you booked your trip. Good travel insurance pays out if you cancel for any reason.
FYI: According to Greenleigh’s data.world, the ten countries Americans are most likely to get killed in are: Pakistan, Thailand, Philippines, Haiti, Honduras, Nigeria, Belize, Guyana, Egypt and Mexico.
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Terrance Zepke studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee and later received a Master's Degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. She has studied Parapsychology at the renowned Rhine Research Center. She began her career as a freelance writer and photographer, ... 
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